Tension bar and lock



Nov. 24, 1931. P. K. MARSHALL 1,333,169

TENSION BAR AND LOCK Filed May 10. 1929 ll||| I 1h 1 [I III II I P v l m t I 1 4 f v )9 4\ N g I v 1.7 Z I I INVENTOR.

16 15/ f 2/ By 10 MK #WM/ A TTORNE'Y5 Patented N v, 24,1931 7 i v ."i gran-L zxp-m ginsirstn or mm umgimwsg m ,Assam so HIGGiN manumozrnnme co /many, ior mwronr, .knnrucmr, 1A, .CORPQRATION or w usr invention rel ates to meansof fastening. clo uresysuch as 'shade'sand curtainsforwln- 'dows'fand ha s particular applicationto wink "thefbar; showing one of the locking bars 'in M i it r iqf th ft 1 fi h'fa esib '5 wire screen element sis-held under L'lIBIlSlOIl upon a spring-roller in a housing at the top the window, sothat, by "means of a tension than-"it ma y be drawn down andfifastened to A qcoverthe opening, or'rretracted into the hous Eingat will in such screens a spring latch *isdesirable "for fastening the, tension .Ebar to the window sill when the .screen is inuse. When-i1; is desired "to open the screen, and

,2 E theilatch isreleaseditlrejscreen'movestowarjd the housing; carrying the tens1on bar with it, unless the operator manually liolds them fdown. Thus, if the fhousewitel desires to open; the screen temporarily, for example, tov jplacfe articles in 'an outside i'reztrigerator, she *must luse one 'ha'nd .tohold'therscreen' in place. If she does not,the gtension bar is V drawn up out 01f jr'eacjh, jaiidshe is put to considerable inconvenience ii nf jclosingf the screen again. Further, ifthe spring-roller is too tight; the impact of the tension bar "against the fhousingfwould tend toi flo osen and rip away the screen element its fastenings, and materially shortens the life vi Off thedevicel j. I l 1 It is an object of my invention-to'Tproyide the tension b'arwith a'posi'tive lfricti'onglocl'z 'whichwill hold it at any position -ailong the guides which is desiredfby 'the'oner'ator, and which will Iprevent#the sudden? flyingup" of thebar; and this enables meeto use heavy spring tension on the roller, so as to keep the screening taut and smooth at all times.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a tension bar and lock which is sim ple and economical to construct, and which afl'ords convenient means for the attachment of the screen element thereto. V p 7 These and other objects of my invention away;

" T Application 'f il'd" May 10,

will be apparent to one skilled in the art upon;

fwi i i 2m AN 5 K,

1 29, s a1m.3m i n Figure 2-is a'section of the tensionfbar and dock along the line "2- 2 in Figure 1".

Figure 3 :is a 'transverse section "through and"thei inethod efattaehmentoi the screen in Figure 1:

{by the tension har whiel is "designa'ted as-1 7?) l I a- 11' of, ule-strips; 4a is provided-with a channel 9,-the' op'ening of which is partially closed by a projection so that sufficient room only is ailowed for the easy entrance and fifiy movement of the screen'el'ement and "thelo ck; 'ingjbars, ajswill hereinafter bef more "fully described This projection is -co'nveniently provide cl by stri-psi10 fastened removably to the stripsi l, and of such Width -as to "extend partially "across the opening of the channel 9; forming a shoulder and a slotted opening.

Thiswill be clearly-understoodby reiterenceI I f to the-seGtionfinfFigure'2; The width ofth'e' screen elementB'will {be such as to effect an insectproof construction along the sidein the Z'manu facture 'o'f metallic-frame windew, screens, it; is the-usual practice to form hmietshaped members of sheet met: V

'al, provide the necessary stiffness and strength, and to fasten" the screen into? the channels thereof. Inlmy tension' bar, Itprovide are'latively dfe ep and narrowsheet meta-l channel with; its edges-bent in toward e a'chfi othemwhich-"isshown in section fat 11 in Figure-'3 5 'Jlhe .zlengthwise slot lthus :tl ett be.

' tween" the inwardly bentaedges gis disposed 1 9 7 upwardly, and the lower end of the screen element isr fastened thereinto by any suitable method such as riveting, crimping, etc. In my improved construction, however, I pre fer to double the end of the screen about a narrow metallic spline 12, and to slide this section, wedgi'ng' upward therein.

gagement ofthe screen element therefrom when desired.

' the locking bars which are designated at 1 8 and 19in Figure 2, forming shoulders for Within the lower part of the tension bar channel ll, Ir provide locking bars 14 and15, shown in; Figure 2.3 These locking bars projectbeyond the tension bar channel at either end, a-nd'ca'rry upon their eXtremities friQ tion lugs 16, 16. The bars are free to slide in .thechan'nel, and are normally drawn toward each other by the actionof the spring l 7. Sinceeach friction lug is disposed. within the hollowportion of a respective frame strip 4,

and bears againstthe shoulder formed by the "strip '10, it;will be clear 'thatthe action of ,the spring li, in drawing them together by means of the locking bars, will be to lock the tension bar assembly securely and pre :vent its movement along the strips 4. W I 1 To releasethe lockI provide extensions of the attachment of the-spring V1 7 and overlapping portions for the attachment ,of the finger grips 20 and 21. This constructionis contained within-a protuberance in the tension bar channel member, which I have des- -ignated at22. This protuberance isslotted for the passage of the finger-grip shanks, {as at 23, 'Thejfingengrip shanks are tastened tothe ends'o'f theextensions 18 and119 by.

any convenient method, such as by riveting, or by screwing the threaded shank into a threaded opening,- Itwill be-understood, of course, that instead of using separate fingergrips, these'may be struck upv from the ex;-

tensions 18 and 19 and be integral therewith The' finger-grip 21 is thus fastened directly to the end of the extension 19; but the shank of the-finger-grip '20 first passes through a slotted opening 24 in the extension 18 before It will be noted that thetension bar structure can be removed andnew wire inserted therein by merelyunscrewing the strips 10 from the side bars. I a v I-Iaving thus described my invention, what I claim.as new "and desire to secure by Letters Patent,'is

1. A tension bar andlock for a flexible closure, comprising a sheet metal channel *member formed of a single stamping and provided with an enlargement in one side forming a housing, opposed locking'bars slidabl'y'held' within said member, one end l of eacheofjsaid locking bars projecting from an opposite end of said :member and provided with a'ofriction element, the other endsof said locking bars having means forming, shoulders and overlapping portion's within saidihousing, afinger grlpelement on the overlying oneof said, portions extending;

through .a slot in said housing, al'second finger-grip; element on the "underlying; one

of said portions extending througha slot in the overlying one of said portions and through a .slot in said housing, and a coiled spring within said housing attached to, said shoulders Z i a 7v 2. A tension bar'an'dlockcomprising a hollow member with a-slot inone side, bars parallel "for portions of their lengths lying inward from said slot, and each h'avingla projection out through a'respective opposite end of said hollow member, engaging means on therespective projections, a slnglejspring connecting 'the two bars and normally pullj ing said bars inwardly of said hollowi member, and handlesontherespective bars ex tending laterally outward through said; slot.

3. ,A'tension,bar and lock comprising a' I channel with converging edge portions leav mg a'slot for entrance 'ofaclo'sure element to wedge between saidedge portions, and leaving a space'belowthe closure, 'said'cham nel having a slot opening from onesi'de of said space, locking bars 'slidabl-y mounted in said space and yieldingly held with 'theifend parts {out past the. respective ends of the bar, and handle'so'n the respective bars extending outthrough' said sideslot. v j PAUL K. MARSHALL.

being fastened to the extension 19. The pres- I A f I it sure of the fingers of the operator against the finger-grips will have the effect ofopposing the spring 17, and of forcing; the

lockingibars in opposite directions outward ly from the ends of the tension bar channel,

strip 10. This permits the operator to raise or lower the screen as" desired; and as soon thus releasingthepressure of the-friction lugslG against the shoulder formedbyjthe as the finger-grips are released, the,tension bar isimmediately locked'agaijnst movement, and the screenis held at the desired height; 

